About Mental Health Foundation (India)

Mental Health Foundation (India) is a registered not for profit organization committed to work for better mental health of people to make a healthier nation since its inception in year 2003. We are working relentlessly with a range of issues related to mental health. One of its benchmark contributions to the nation in the field of correction science is Psychological First Aid for prison that is first in India and second in the world of its kind. After one year of substantial and comprehensive work in Tihar Prison, that is one of the Asia’s largest prisons, we developed two manuals and a screening tool for the mental wellbeing of prisoners. It is needless to say that holistic health is incomplete without mental health. There is growing evidence that mental health issues has escalated deep into the society due to various reason. Not only in India, but the mental health issue is matter of grave concern across the globe also. The stigma associated with mental health issues and lack of awareness among people is one of the major reasons due to which larger portion dealing with them remains untouched. Further, the work left out has been accomplished by lingual gap. There is already insufficient content on mental health in English, but if we turn towards Hindi, the content is like a drop in the ocean. Therefore; we strongly felt that, unless the mental health issues will not be discussed conscientiously in vernacular or peoples language any objective set thereof cannot be achieved............... Upon feeling this crisis for a long, we have finally launched India’s first mental health E-magazine ‘mansik swasthya patrika’ in year 2019 covering myriad issues on mental health in Hindi on occasion of world health day celebrated each year on 7th April. The stigma regarding mental health issues cannot be uprooted unless people will not accept the issues. In order to create acceptance our first major step was to draw the kind attention of government to review section 309 (punishment for suicide) through writ petition and further to sensitize peoples representative to come forward to take the issue in wider public interest and finally we got succeeded. The union government decriminalized the sec. 309 of Indian Penal Code unless proved otherwise after the bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on 08th August, 2016 and by Lok Sabha on 27th march, 2017 and the act commenced on July 2018. We are gradually working towards positive direction day by day with help of your love, affection and generous support.